


Sticks and Stones

by chocobee



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Protective Cindy Aurum, Regret, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22058323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobee/pseuds/chocobee
Summary: He’s a liability, they say. They just want to see him hurt, they say. It’s for the best, they say. And Prompto gets it — really. He’s not even close to being on par with the rest of them. They’re stronger, smarter, better. He’s barely scraping by on a few months of unofficial Crownsguard training. He causes more trouble than he’s worth and goes through curatives faster than they can get the money to replenish them.So he gets it — but that doesn’t really make it hurt any less.The next morning, when they set out from Lestallum, Prompto remains behind.Bad Things Happen Bingo:Parting Words Regret
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Cindy Aurum
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1380571
Comments: 9
Kudos: 117
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Sticks and Stones

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by an anon over on tumblr:
>
>> Can I request parting words regret? Gladio + Ignis believing Prompto is a liability. Them telling him that + putting him down + telling him he's useless and a danger to noc + blaming him for something + telling him to leave. So he leaves. They regret what they said. Can I ask for an added bonus of them seeing him again months later? Thankyou
> 
> Sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of trouble writing this one but I think it came out alright in the end. Thank you for the request! 

It was inevitable, really, is what Prompto thinks when the others sit him down after dinner for a ‘talk.’ He’s been waiting for the other shoe to drop ever since they lost Insomnia.

He’s a liability, they say. They just want to see him hurt, they say. It’s for the best, they say. And Prompto gets it — really. He’s not even close to being on par with the rest of them. They’re stronger, smarter,  _ better.  _ He’s barely scraping by on a few months of unofficial Crownsguard training. He causes more trouble than he’s worth and goes through curatives faster than they can get the money to replenish them.

So he gets it — but that doesn’t really make it hurt any less.

The next morning, when they set out from Lestallum, Prompto remains behind.

Prompto stays there for a little while. He takes up a few small jobs from Vyv and insists on paying Jared for the tiny, single room he’s staying in the for the time being, despite Jared constantly telling him that he’s always welcome free of charge.

The first night alone, Prompto hardly sleeps. Sleeping in a single bed all by himself is weird, to say the least. He’s grown so used to being tucked up next to someone, whether it be in the tent or a double bed at a motel. Their constant, solid presence beside him had always been comforting, and now he just feels vulnerable and alone.

It’s too quiet, too. He’s used to the sounds of the others around him: snoring, quiet mumbling, sheets rustling. Now it’s just him and unending silence that seems far louder than Gladio’s snoring had ever gotten, and Prompto’s never been good with the quiet. It leaves his brain undistracted and even more susceptible to overthinking than it already is. He curls up in bed alone and puts headphones on to fill the silence, but it hardly helps.

He hasn’t been well and truly  _ alone  _ since they first set out from Insomnia. Now here he is, all by himself. It drags up old feelings of abandonment he’d long since buried. In the back of his mind, Prompto thinks he should be able to handle this. He’d been alone before he’d met Noct and the others. His parents were never around. His house was just as empty and quiet as the hotel room he’s in now. He’d gotten used to it back then, had been okay with it even, so what was different now?

Barely a week goes by and Prompto starts to feel antsy. After traveling for so long, staying in one spot feels weird and wrong. Besides, he can’t just live at the Leville forever, even if he’s paying for it. His anxiety and insecurities are getting the better of him here, wondering just how long it’ll be before Iris and Talcott and Jared and Vyv get tired of him too. He needs a change of scenery.

He wants to leave, if only for a little while, but… where else would he go? His first thought is the chocobo post — Wiz has been nothing but kind and Prompto’s sure being around his favorite birds would at least cheer him up a little. He’s more than willing to help Wiz out around the stables.

Prompto supposes Hammerhead is an option, too. Cindy’s always more than welcoming, as well Cid, as gruff as he acted. He’s sure he could be of use there, too. Prompto’s good with his hands and mechanics, and while he’s never specifically worked on cars, he feels confident that he could learn with both Cid and Cindy there to show him the ropes.

In the end, he decides to go visit Wiz, since the post is practically between Lestallum and Hammerhead anyway. When he inevitable goes stir-crazy there next, he’ll move on to Hammerhead. He’s saved up enough gil from taking pictures for Vyv to rent a chocobo for the trip. He gets his supplies, bids goodbye to everyone in Lestallum, and sets off.

Traveling alone is significantly more difficult than with the others. He still has his weapons and can hold his own if needed, but he’d easily be outnumbered by any beasts he came across. He avoids them inside of fighting, making wide arcs around them that end up costing him more time and daylight.

Camping is another challenge altogether. The guys hadn’t really left him with any gear that wasn’t specifically his own. He’s got a sleeping bag and a chair and some other miscellaneous items. He hadn’t really thought about getting a tent back in Lestallum, so he’ll just have to make do until he can see about getting a small, cheap one.

He’d remembered to stock up on food, at least. His menu mostly consists of Cup Noodles, but he’s able to mix it up with a few other hastily put together dishes here and there, even with his limited supplies and ingredients. It only makes him miss Ignis and his cooking even more.

At least Prompto has his chocobo for company, he figures. She listens to his incessant rambling without ever telling him to shut up or tone it down. He prattles on, just to fill the silence, because he can’t bear it.

When he finally reaches the chocobo post, exhausted and dirty and roughed up from a few unavoidable fights, Wiz welcomes him with open arms and — after some concern as to why the rest of his group is missing — sits him down for a warm meal free of charge. Afterwards, Prompto rents out the caravan and revels in a semi-comfortable bed the way he always has after days of camping.

The next morning he asks Wiz if he wouldn’t mind Prompto sticking around for a while and helping out. Wiz grins and puts him to work immediately with the promise of another hot meal and some gil for his labor.

For the next few days, Prompto finds a new, quiet rhythm. During the day, he does whatever tasks Wiz asks him to do, which mainly consists of cleaning the stables. It’s not too bad, except for maybe the smell, but his nose adjusts quickly. At night, he pointedly does not dwell on all the memories he has of this place while he lays there staring at the caravan ceiling and listening to music.

Noct calls, one night. Prompto is surprised, but more surprised to find he doesn’t really want to answer it. What would he even say? He stomps down on that little spark of hope that maybe they’ve changed their minds, that they want him around after all. Prompto stares at where his phone vibrates on the bed beside him, debating. What if something happened? He can’t bear the thought of them being in danger or injured and not knowing about it. The phone is one ring away from voicemail when he snatches it up and answers it.

It turns out that Noct just wanted to say hi, is all. He asks Prompto how he is, what he’s been doing, if he’s still in Lestallum. Noct carefully avoids the fact that they’d practically abandoned him and that that’s the only reason why this call is taking place. Prompto gives stilted answers until Noct eventually gets whatever hint Prompto had been dropping for him and they end the conversation.

_ “Keep in touch,”  _ Nocts says.

“Yeah,” Prompto can only croak, mashing the  _ end call  _ button.

Prompto cries after that, alone in the caravan that had always seemed too small but now feels entirely too big. His feelings are all jumbled up; he’s hurt and lonely and sad and  _ angry.  _ Not only at Noct, at Ignis and Gladio, but at himself — couldn’t he be good enough for someone to want to keep him around? First his parents, now his friends? ...Were they even still his  _ friends? _ Did he want them to be?

The next morning, after he’d cried himself to sleep the night before, Prompto packs up his bags and takes off for Hammerhead. He can’t stay at the chocobo post any longer, with all the memories he has there of chocobo races and the little black chick they’d worked so hard to save. Prompto knows he’ll only find more of the same at Hammerhead — or wherever he goes, really — but it’s the only place he can think of. Before he leaves, Wiz tells him he’s always welcome back and it’s all Prompto can do not to cry again.

Traveling the second time is much of the same as the first, except he’s slightly better equipped now and doesn’t half starve or freeze himself with lack of proper food and shelter. He still avoids whatever beasts he comes across. His chocobo still listens to him talk about whatever comes to mind.

When he arrives in Hammerhead, Cindy gives him a sad sort of look she thinks he doesn’t see and gives him a quick hug in greeting. He figures that maybe Noct and the others had come by for service on the Regalia and she’d noticed his absence. Distantly, he wonders what they told her about the situation. Cid gives him a pat on the shoulder and says he can stay however long he wants, so long as he doesn’t mind being put to work.

So Prompto moves into the second caravan that could never feel like home, unsure of how long he’ll be able to bear this place before he has to leave again. Having Cid and Cindy around helps. Cid is gruff, but kind. Cindy is as sweet as ever and makes sure to always keep Prompto company. Prompto finds working on cars interesting, even if all he does at first is hand off tools to Cindy while she does most of the work.

One night, the three of them go through a pack of beer and Prompto drinks more than he probably should have. Cid retreats to bed and Cindy stops Prompto when he reaches for another bottle.

“I think you’ve had enough,” she says, soft and kind. Her hand is warm on his arm. “Maybe you should get to bed, too.”

“I guess,” he says. He’s definitely drunk and knows he’ll be feeling it in the morning. He’d been having a pretty good time, laughing with the two of them, but now it’s quiet and all he can think about is having to go back to an empty caravan and unending silence, and how much he hates it.

“I’ll take ya,” Cindy says, pulling him to his feet. She’s tipsy, but not drunk like him. She hadn’t drank as much, but Prompto isn’t surprised to know she can hold her alcohol either way. He stumbles and she loops one of his arms around her shoulders.

“Thank you,” he slurs when she drops him down onto the bed in the caravan. He sits and hunches over, face in his hands. He doesn’t really want her to leave.

“You gonna be alright?” she asks from the doorway.

“Yeah,” he croaks. Then, after a moment of hesitation, “No.”

“Oh, Prompto,” she says, and sits beside him on the bed. She wraps her arms around him and tugs him close, and that’s all it takes for the tears he’s been holding back to fall. “I’m sorry,” she says, and he knows what she’s talking about without her even having to explain. He hasn’t been himself lately, not for lack of trying. She knows being without the others is eating him up inside, feeling betrayed and alone all at once.

“Why can’t I be good enough?” Prompto whispers, voice hoarse and tears dripping down his cheeks, because he’s drunk and can’t stop all his insecurities from overflowing. He wasn’t good enough for his parents. He wasn’t good enough for Noctis, Ignis, Gladio.

Cindy shushes him, running a hand through his hair. “You  _ are  _ enough, Prompto. More than, even. It ain’t right, what they did. I was pissed. I  _ am  _ pissed,” she tells him. She sounds angrier than Prompto’s ever heard her.

“It’s my fault,” he says miserably.

“It  _ ain’t  _ your fault, Prom,” she says fiercely, pulling him away to grip him by the shoulders and look into his watery eyes. “It’s theirs. I dunno what’s gotten into ‘em, but it just ain’t right what they did.”

Her words only make him cry harder, all the feelings he’d buried after his breakdown at Wiz’s resurfacing. It  _ isn’t  _ right, that they could just leave him like this, toss him aside once he’s served his usefulness with no regard to his feelings. He would’ve gladly stayed with them, even if that meant almost dying on a daily basis. He always tried his best to protect Noctis, would give his life down for his prince and best friend without even a second of hesitation — for Ignis and Gladio, too. Why had they even brought him along in the first place if this was the outcome?

At some point he and Cindy had laid down on the bed. Prompto’s mostly cried out now, just exhausted and hurting and drunk. He’s still wrapped up in Cindy’s arms. It feels like a long time since he’s been this close to someone and he basks in the warmth radiating off her.

“Can you stay?” he asks quietly. He hopes it doesn’t sound weird or pervy. “Not like that. Only if you want to. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he rambles.

“I’m plenty comfortable,” Cindy tells him, carding a hand through his hair. She smells like cheap beer and motor oil. “I’m right here, Prom.”

As Prompto falls asleep, feeling less alone than he has in what seems like forever but has only been a few weeks, his last thought is that he hopes Cid doesn’t get the wrong idea and kill him come morning.

Cindy’s still there when he wakes up to sunlight streaming through the caravan window. She’s already awake, staring up at the ceiling and twirling a finger in the longer locks of Prompto’s hair. He suddenly reminded of why he was so infatuated with her when they first met. She’s gorgeous and compassionate.

But that ship has long since sailed. His feelings for her are strictly platonic now. He thinks of her more as an older sister, especially after last night. Embarrassed, his face heats up and he shifts to shuffle away from her. The movement pulls her from whatever thoughts she’d been having and she turns her face to him and smiles softly.

“Sorry,” he says, avoiding her eyes, “about last night. But… thank you. It really means a lot, Cindy.”

“Of course, Prom. Nothin’ to apologize for,” she says, squeezing him tight for a moment. “You’re never alone here, y’hear me?”

“I hear you,” he says, smiling, and hugs her back. “Thank you.”

She ruffles his hair and disappears before Cid can get suspicious. Prompto gets up to get ready and follow after her within a few minutes, because he knows what kind of thoughts laying in bed for too long will bring.

The desert heat is ruthless today, bearing down on them without a cloud in the sky. He’s bent over the open hood of a car, Cindy peeing in beside him as they looked for the problem, when it happens.

From behind him, he hears, “Prompto!”

Prompto freezes, mostly in shock, but then straightens up. He can’t disappear into the hood of the car, as much as he wants to. He turns around and then Noct’s wrapping him up in his arms, squeezing him tight. Prompto can feel the heat of Cindy’s glare behind him, even if it’s not directed at him in the slightest.

Prompto doesn’t really know what to do. He doesn’t hug Noct back and looks at Ignis and Gladio awkwardly over the prince’s shoulder. Noct pulls away when he realizes Prompto has gone as stiff as a board at the contact. Noct steps away, frowning, and Cindy puts a protective arm around Prompto’s shoulders. Prompto doesn’t know how to feel about all this.

“We didn’t know you’d be here,” Noct says, but he doesn’t sound annoyed to see Prompto, despite the confused frown tugging at his lips.

Prompto just shrugs from under Cindy’s arm. “He’s been helpin’ out,” Cindy answers for him, a bite in her tone.

“Um, cool,” Noct says. His face is pinched at the tension radiating from the entire situation. “Do you think we could talk to you for a sec, Prom?”

Prompto’s throat feels tight. The last time he heard that, he’d lost all of them. Still, he nods. “Sure, he says, and shrugs Cindy’s shoulder off. She catches his hand and squeezes it in reassurance, then lets him go.

The caravan is stifling as they all cram in. It’s weird to have it filled again after getting used to how empty it could be.

“So, you and Cindy seem pretty close,” Gladio teases, trying for some sense of normalcy. Prompto doesn’t know how they can just act like nothing happened, how they can act as if they’ve been together all this time.

“It’s not like that,” Prompto says, a bit harsher than he means to. Or maybe he meant to be that harsh. He’s not sure.

No one says anything after that. The silence now is more unbearable than it’s been these past few weeks when he was alone. Prompto’s almost had it and is about to leave when Noct awkwardly asks, “So, how’ve you been?”

Prompto blinks at him. “Fine,” he says, but offers nothing more. Why do they care now? It’s as if they’re not just going to move on without him again.

They exchange a glace. Ignis clears his throat and says, “So, what we wanted to talk to you about…”

“Look,” Gladio says just when it seems like no one else will say anything, “we fucked up.”

Ignis sighs at his lack of tact, but agrees, “It’s true. We shouldn’t have just left you like that.”

“Yeah,” Noct says. “We thought we were doing the right thing, but… it kinda sucks without you, Prom.” Prompto blinks at him. “We miss you,” Noct admits after a beat. He sounds… sad, and Prompto doesn’t really think he has the right to be.

“Noct is right,” Ignis says. “What we’re trying to ask is that if you’d like to join us again.”

Prompto doesn’t know what to say. The urge to escape nearly wins out, but he forces himself to stay rooted to the spot.

Did he want to join them again? It wouldn’t be the same, if this encounter was anything to go by. They’d have to work to rebuild what they once had. A while ago, he might’ve just forgiven them and jumped back into their waiting arms, desperate for any scrap of validation. Now, he’s not so sure. But the fact that the even wanted him back had to mean something, right?

“I… dunno,” Prompto says, and they all frown, as if they’d expected him to practically jump back into their laps. “I need to think about it.” He can’t just give them an answer. His feelings are all over the place again and he needs time to sort them out.

“Of course,” Ignis says, nodding. “We understand.”

“No, you don’t,” Prompto says without meaning to. They blink at him. Awkwardly, he admits, “You guys really fucked up this time.” If he hadn’t cried all his tears the night before, Prompto’s sure he’d be a mess again now.

“Prompto…” Noct says, like he doesn’t know what else to say.

After all this time by himself, Prompto never thought he’d say, “I need to be alone right now,” and leave them sitting there, without him.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to leave it a bit open at the end because I couldn't deciding on anything better. So it's up to you on what you think happens afterwards!
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are always appreciated <3
> 
> [personal tumblr](https://k-ovic.tumblr.com) | [writing tumblr](https://choco-bee.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/choco_bee_) | [requests](https://choco-bee.tumblr.com/requests)
> 
> DMs are always open, feel free to come and chat :)


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